LABORATORY AND PILOT PLANTS

WIPED FILM AND SHORT PATH DISTILLATION

www.vta-process.de
Company Profile and Services

VTA Verfahrenstechnische Anlagen GmbH & Co. KG, based in Niederwinkling, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAX STREICHER GmbH & Co.
KG aA and specialised in the field of thermal process engineering. The main focus of production is on wiped film and short path distillation
plants at laboratory, pilot and industrial scale as well as the manufacturing of related components.
These distillation plants are operated for purification, concentration, removal of low boilers, colour improvement and drying of products in
various industries. Highly qualified and responsible professionals ensure the highest quality standards. They are the foundation of the
sustainable development of VTA.
From process development, via trials to the finished plant or the execution of a toll distillation, everything comes from one single source at VTA.
The close coordination of process development, design and manufacturing enables VTA to quickly respond to customer requests even during
the manufacturing phase. Thus, the best possible solution even for complex problems is achieved for customers. VTA is a problem solver!

Performance requirements
Definition of separation task,
specification of quality

Theoretical evaluation
Process simulation,
calculations

Trial
Laboratory tests,
pilot tests...

Plant Toll
construction distillation

Wiped Film Short Path Horizontal Thin Film Glass Lined Laboratory and
Evaporators Evaporators Thin Film Evaporators Pilot Plants
Evaporators Dryers

System
Package Unit Components assembled at site
Distillation Methods

General Set-up of Wiped Film and Short Path Distillation Units

External Condenser Cold Trap Wiped Film Distillation

M 3 4
5
In a wiped film evaporator a rotating wiping system distributes
Feed

2
the crude product to a thin film on the inner surface of a heated
cylindrical shell. The wiping system speeds up the evaporation process
6
Vacuum Pump
Wiped Film Evaporator

1 by keeping the product film thin and turbulent so that the heat transfer
and mass transfer are optimised. The condenser is located outside of
the evaporator body. The minimum achievable operating pressure is
Distillate
limited by the pressure drop of the vapors passing through the vapor
Concentrate

nozzle. For high distillate ratios the operating pressure is usually

limited to 1 mbar. With suitable wiping systems it is possible to
External Condenser Cold Trap distill heat sensitive as well as low or high viscosity products; it is also
3 4
5
possible to process mixtures of materials to dry powders.

In some cases, the separation efficiency of a single stage wiped film

6
Vacuum Pump

Reflux Device
Column
distillation unit is not sufficient to achieve decent product qualities.
M In such cases wiped film evaporators (as reboiler) combined with
Feed
a rectification column with several separation stages (theoretical
plates) are used to increase the separation efficiency.
2

Wiped Film Evaporator

Concentrate Distillate
Short Path Distillation
A short path evaporator combines a wiped film evaporator with an
M
internal condenser in a single apparatus. A wiping system spreads
Feed
the feed material onto the heated internal evaporator surface just
like in a wiped film evaporator. Unlike in a wiped film evaporator, in
2

a short path evaporator the vapors are condensed on a condenser

Short Path Evaporator Cold Trap
5
1

located inside the evaporator. The distance between the heated

Key:
1 = Inlet Heating Media 6
Vacuum Pump
surface and the condenser surface is very short. The pressure
2 = Outlet Heating Media 3 4

3 = Inlet Cooling Media Internal Condenser drop in the vapor nozzle does not apply as it does in wiped film
4 = Outlet Cooling Media
5 = Refrigerant, LN2, Dry Ice
6 = Condensate Cold Trap
Concentrate Distillate distillation. Distillation pressures down to 0.001 mbar are
achievable in laboratory as well as industrial scale equipment.
Laboratory Plants – General Description

Wiped Film and Short Path Distillation units for laboratory use
With laboratory units, reliable conclusions about the feasibility of a separation process can be made by using only small product amounts.
The set-up and design of the lab units VTA offers to customers, are based on many years of experience gained in our own VTA test center.

Lab units are used for

··verifying the feasibility of a separation task
··performing first process development steps
··producing small sample amounts of final products
··optimising existing processes
Since the evaporator body is made of glass, the product performance can be visually assessed during the distillation.

Features of laboratory units

Typical feed rates 20 g/h up to approx. 12 kg/h
Material main components Borosilicate glass
Max. heating temperature 350 °C
Evaporator size 0.01 up to 0.40 m²
Achievable pressure in wiped film evaporator 0.1 mbar
Achievable pressure in short path evaporator 0.001 mbar
Pilot Plants – General Description

Pilot Plants for Wiped Film and Short Path Distillation

Main target is to generate scalable data and results during the pilot tests (with small sample quantities) to enable a later scale up to
industrial systems. Furthermore, these pilot systems can be used for distillation or drying of small product quantities. Experience, gained
by experiments with a variety of products in our own pilot plants, has influenced the design and improves the quality and performance
of the systems continuously.

Pilot plants are used for

··generating the scalable data for industrial systems
··producing certain sample quantities
··optimisation of existing processes
Features of pilot plants
Typical feed rates 5 kg/h up to approx. 50 kg/h
Material main components Stainless steel or special materials
Max. heating temperature 350 °C (Thermal oil)
For higher heating temperatures:
Inductive and electrical heating possible
Evaporator size 0.06 up to 0.50 m²
Achievable pressure in wiped film evaporator 0.1 mbar
Achievable pressure in short path evaporator < 0.001 mbar
Small product hold up in pipes and vessels
Laboratory Plants – Set-up
The plants are assembled according to the individual requirements (product features, tasks etc.) of the customer.

Example: Single Stage Distillation Unit

Component and Design Options

Feed ··Dosing vessel*
··Gear pump*
··Dosing pump
Discharge ··Glass flasks
··Triple split distributor
··Intermediate buffer vessel*
··Gear pump*
Vacuum system ··Rotary vane pump
··Oil diffusion pump
Skid ··Moveable skid
··Installation on bench (e.g. fume hood)
Electrical equipment ··Standard version for manual operation
··PLC control and process visualisation
Material ··Borosilicate glass
··Stainless steel
··Other special materials
Configurations ··Single stage
··Multi stage
··Wiped film evaporator with column
*) Trace-Heating for higher-melting or viscous products possible
Standard Design / Short Path Distillation Unit

Dosing Vessel Suitable for

∙ Feasibility studies
∙ Simple separation tasks
M ∙ Low melting products
∙ Discontinuous operation
Short Path Evaporator
2

Features
Cold Trap
5
∙ Dosing vessel
1 ∙ No trace heating
∙ Flasks for residue and distillate
discharge
6
Vacuum Pump
Internal Condenser

Receiving Flasks 1x
Heating Unit

Distillate Concentrate

High-end Design / Short Path Distillation Unit

Feed-Vessel

Suitable for
M ∙ Production of samples up to
Short Path Evaporator
several kilograms
2 ∙ Complex separation tasks
∙ High melting products
Cold Trap
- Continuous operation
5
1

Features
Vacuum Pump
6 ∙ Feed vessel
Internal Condenser
Vacuum Pump
∙ Fully trace heated system
∙ Pumps for feed supply, residue
3x
Heating Unit
1x
Tempering and distillate discharge
Unit

Concentrate Distillate

Key:
1 = Inlet Heating Media
2 = Outlet Heating Media
5 = Refrigerant, LN2, dry ice
6 = Condensate Cold Trap
Laboratory Plants – Standard Sizes
With laboratory units, reliable conclusions about the feasibility of a separation process can be made by only using small product amounts.

Standard Sizes of VTA Wiped Film Evaporators for laboratory use

Evaporator surface Feed rate Required crude amount
Type
[m²] [kg/h] [kg]
VDL 70-4 0.04 0.1 - 1.5 1.0
VDL 70-5 0.05 0.1 - 1.5 1.0
VDL 70-7 0.07 0.2 - 2.0 2.0
VDL 125-15 0.15 0.3 - 5.0 5.0
VDL 200-30 0.30 0.5 - 9.0 10.0
VDL 200-40 0.40 0.8 - 12.0 12.0
Larger laboratory-evaporator sizes on request

Standard Sizes of VTA Short Path Evaporators for laboratory use

Evaporator surface Feed rate Required crude amount
Type
[m²] [kg/h] [kg]
VKL 38-1 0.01 0.02 - 0.3 0.1
VKL 70-4 0.04 0.10 - 1.2 2.0
VKL 70-5 0.05 0.10 - 1.5 2.0
VKL 125-10 0.10 0.30 - 3.0 4.0
VKL 125-15 0.15 0.30 - 5.0 5.0
VKL 125-20 0.20 0.30 - 6.0 6.0
VKL 200-30 0.30 0.50 - 9.0 10.0
Larger laboratory-evaporator sizes on request

Technical Data
Wiped Film Evaporator Wiped Film Evaporator with Rectification Column Short Path Evaporator
Operating pressure: Operating pressure: 1,000 – 0.5 mbar (column head); min. 1.5 mbar Operating pressure:
1,000 - 0.1 mbar in the evaporator (depending on evaporation rate and reflux ratio) 1,000 - 0.001 mbar
Max. melting point of the material to be processed up to 200 °C
Max. heating temperature of jacket: 350 °C
Max. viscosity of the residue at operating temperature: 15,000 mPas (cP)
Numbers of theoretical plates are selected based on
customer requirements. Standard: approx. 10
Pilot Plants – Standard Sizes
With pilot wiped film and short path distillation units, proper and reliable tests can be performed with only 30 kg of crude material.

Pilot Plants with Wiped Film Evaporators

Standard Sizes of VTA Wiped Film Evaporators in pilot scale
Evaporator surface Feed rate Required crude amount
Type
[m²] [kg/h] [kg]
VD 83-6 0.06 5.0 - 12.0 30.0
VD 125-20 0.20 15.0 - 40.0 100.0
VD 200-50 0.50 40.0 - 100.0 300.0

Pilot Plants with Short Path Evaporators

Standard Sizes of VTA Short Path Evaporators in pilot scale
Evaporator surface Feed rate Required crude amount
Type
[m²] [kg/h] [kg]
VK 83-6 0.06 3.0 - 10.0 30.0
VK 100-10 0.10 3.0 - 15.0 30.0
VK 125-15 0.15 8.0 - 30.0 80.0
VK 200-40 0.40 25.0 - 80.0 200.0

Technical Data
Wiped Film Evaporator
Operating pressure:
1,000 - 0.1 mbar
Max. viscosity of the residue at operating temperature: 100,000 mPas (cP)
Wiped Film Evaporator with Rectification Column Short Path Evaporator
Operating pressure: 1,000 – 0.5 mbar (column head); min. 1.5 mbar Operating pressure:
in the evaporator (depending on evaporation rate and reflux ratio) 1,000 - 0.001 mbar
Max. melting point of the material to be processed up to 200 °C
Max. heating temperature of jacket: 350 °C
Max. viscosity of the residue at
operating temperature:
15,000 mPas (cP)
Numbers of theoretical plates are selected based on
customer requirements. Standard: approx. 10
Pilot Plants – Set-up

Available options
The systems are individually adapted to customer requirements, based on product properties and frequency of use. Besides the basic
configuration the following options can be selected:

··Trace heating of individual sections (feed, residue and distillate) for melting or viscous products
··Selection of product wetted parts in stainless steel or special materials and alloys
··Combination with other evaporation stages
··Extension set for the plant for rectification; Wiped Film Evaporator as reboiler
··PLC and visualisation
··Continuous operation

Degasser - Short Path Evaporator - Short Path Evaporator

In multi-stage systems complex product mixtures can be separated in the individual fractions with the desired quality.

Multi-stage system configurations for example are:

··1st stage wiped film evaporator
··2nd stage short path evaporator
··3rd stage short path evaporator
··1st stage degasser
··2nd stage short path evaporator
··3rd stage short path evaporator
··1st stage degasser
··2nd stage short path evaporator
··3rd stage short path evaporator
··4th stage short path evaporator
Wiped Film and Short Path Evaporator with control system/visualisation

Wiped Film Evaporator - Short Path Evaporator - Short Path Evaporator

 Portfolio

Laboratory and Pilot Tests (Test Center) Contract Manufacturing

Laboratory Units Pilot Units

Package Units & Plant Components Service

VTA Verfahrenstechnische Anlagen GmbH & Co. KG STREICHER Group

Establishment 1994 Establishment 1909 (MAX STREICHER GmbH & Co. KG aA)
Number of employees 90 Number of employees approx. 3,500
Locations Niederwinkling/Germany Locations Headquarters: Deggendorf/Germany
Subsidiary Bejing/China: more than 30 locations wolrdwide
VTA PROCESS EQUIPMENT BEJING Co., LTD
Branches:
Rock Hill/US
Seri Kembangan/Malaysia
Visit us online:
www.vta-process.de

VTA Verfahrenstechnische Anlagen GmbH & Co. KG · Bernrieder Str. 10 · 94459 Niederwinkling · Germany
T +49 (0) 9962 9598-0 · E info@vta-process.de · www vta-process.de